If you have a copy of God's Word, again, let me invite you to take it and turn to Mark's Gospel and the chapter 15. Mark's Gospel and the chapter number 15, and we'll begin our reading at verse 22 of the chapter. Mark chapter 15 and the verse 22. And they bring him on to the place Golgotha, which has been interpreted the place of a skull. And they gave him to drink wine, mingled with myrrh, but he received it not. And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. And the superscription of his accusation was written over, the king of the Jews. And with him they crucified two thieves, the one on his right hand and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, he was numbered with the transgressors. They that pass by reeled in him, wagging their heads and saying, are thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days? See of thyself and come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests, mocking, said among themselves with the scribes, he saved others, himself he cannot save. Let Christ, the King of Israel, descend now from the cross that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him. And when the sixth hour was come, there was a darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eolai, Eolai, lamas abathchanai, which is being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. One ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar and put it on a reed and gave him to drink, saying, let alone, let us see whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. When the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he had so cried out and gave up the ghost, he said, truly this man, was the Son of God. We'll end our reading at the end of verse 39. And with the Bible open before us here in Mark chapter 15, let's just seek briefly again the Lord's help and assistance in the preaching of the word and the word of prayer. So let's go once again to God in prayer. Let's pray. Our loving Father, we come to this blessed and sacred spot again. We never tire, we never tire of going to Calvary. Lest I forget thine agony, lead me to Calvary. And so tonight, Lord, lead us again to the cross. For it is the preaching of the cross, though to many foolishness, unto us which are saved it is the power of God. On to salvation. Bless now our waiting souls. Come, fill this preacher with the Holy Ghost, and grant, Lord, help In assistance I cry to thee, for I offer prayer, praying, O God, that even the broadcast will continue throughout this service, because I offer these petitions in and through the Savior's precious name. Amen and amen. In isolation like no other, That is what I want to speak upon this evening in this gospel service. You'll be aware that during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been asked to remain in our homes and only to leave them to purchase food, have exercise, avail ourselves of medical treatment or to go to work, that is, if we cannot work from home. Those who have the misfortune of contracting the strain of coronavirus and begin to show its symptoms are asked to remain at home and to self-isolate for seven days. After those seven days have elapsed, if the individual continues to have a high temperature, they are to continue to self-isolate, but if they no longer have a high temperature, then they can stop self-isolating. And while you are self-isolating, all other household members who remain well must stay at home and not leave the house for at least 14 days. Neither are those who are struggling with these social distancing and self-isolating measures. Carbon fever is setting in for some. To be isolated from family members, especially children and grandchildren, as well as friends, has been difficult for many. But what has our isolation been in recent weeks compared to the isolation that the Savior experienced when he died upon the cross? Admittedly, there were moments in Christ's earthly ministry prior to his death on Calvary's hillside that the Son of God experienced times, episodes of isolation. The Savior loved retirement. He courted the place of solitude. He sought the tranquility of the desert so that there he might converse alone with God. Mark chapter 1 and the verse 35 records one such time in the Savior's life when that occurred. There we read, And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. It was whilst the Savior was alone in the wilderness, led there by the Spirit of God, that the devil came and tempted the Son of God in Matthew chapter 4, a temptation that he did not yield to. In John chapter 7 and 8, we find another example of a time when Christ was left alone during his earthly ministry. John chapter 8 ends with these words in verse 53, and every man went unto his own house. The very next chapter, the opening words of chapter number 8, we find these words, Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives. While others went to the comfort of their homes that night, the Savior took himself to the Mount of Olives and spent the night alone. I think of the night that the Savior went into the Garden of Gethsemane just prior to his arrest. With Judas Iscariot now gone, eight of his disciples are left at the garden's entrance, while three, Peter, James, and John, accompany the Savior into the olive grove. But even this band of close friends were asked to remain at a certain spot while the master went a little further into the garden to pray alone. Gethsemane, no doubt, was a lonely place for the Savior when he offered up, with strong crying and tears, his petitions. When he sweat, as it were, great drops of blood. However, all of these times of isolation, and solitude in the Savior's life were nothing compared to the isolation that he was going to experience upon the cross of Calvary. And I say that for this particular reason. All of the above events in the Savior's life involved him being separated from his earthly companions. There was never a time during these events that he was ever separated from his Father. The Savior would testify of that very fact twice in John chapter 8. In verse 16 of John 8, we read his words, and yet if I judge, my judgment is true, for I am not alone, but I am my Father that sent me. In John 8, in the verse 29, he said, and he that sent me is with me. The father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please him. The constant companionship of his father was something that the Savior testified again of in John 16 in the verse 32. He would say, there behold the hour cometh and is now come that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone, and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. However, when it came to the Son of God becoming sin for us, we see that the Savior, at the ninth hour, he cried with a loud voice from off the cross these words, Iolai, Iolai, lama sabathanai, which is being interpreted, my God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? These words from the lips of the Savior identify an episode of isolation like none other than he had ever experienced in his lifetime. And it is that episode of isolation that I want to consider in this message that I've entitled, An Isolation Like No Other. An Isolation Like No Other. As we consider the Savior's isolation upon the cross, I want you to think with me firstly about the prophetic nature of it. The prophetic nature of it. When the Son of God cried out from the darkness the words, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He was honoring prophetic words that came from the very lips of the Psalmist David hundreds of years prior to the events here in Mark chapter 15. If you turn to Psalm 22 in the verse number one, you will find these words recorded for us there in the opening very verse off that chapter. These words that we find recorded in Mark 15 in the verse 34. There in Psalm 22, we read the words, my God, my God, my God. Why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me and from the words of my roaring? Psalm 22 goes on to speak about the piercing of hands and feet. In the verse 16. In the verse number 18 we read about the parting of the garments among them and his vesture and the casting of lots for the vesture. These are messianic. These words are speaking of the coming Messiah and his sufferings for sinners upon the cross of Calvary. The piercing of hands and feet was a death unheard of in the days of David. The psalm goes on to speak in verse 11. Be not far from me for trouble is near for there is none to help These are the utterings of the Saviour. These are, as it were, the expressions of His heart and His soul upon the cross of Calvary. None to help Him. None to help from among men. I am none to help from among the Godhead. He's there alone. My God, why hast thou forsaken me? These words speak of an abandonment, a forsaking taking place. And so there is no doubt in my mind that this is speaking of the Savior upon the cross. These words that we have in Psalm number 22, this messianic psalm. Psalm 22 is not the only prophetic scripture that speaks of the isolation that the Son of God was going to endure upon the cross. Isaiah 63, the verses 3 and 5, we read words that are attributed to the one who is mighty to save. And who is it that saves? but Christ alone, thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sin. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners unto repentance. The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost, and therefore these words are speaking again of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the one with dyed garments. This is the one who is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength, the one that speaks in righteousness, the one who is mighty to save. And what does he say in Isaiah 63, in the verse three, in the verse five? He says, I have trodden the winepress alone. I have trodden it alone. And off the people there was none with me. I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my garment. Verse 5, And I looked, and there was none to help, and I wondered that there was none to uphold. Therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me, and my fury it upheld me. isolated from every human helper, forsaken by His Father. God the Son was left to suffer alone upon the cross in fulfillment of prophetic scripture. You see, in the Council of Eternity, a plan of salvation was devised and ratified by all the members of the Godhead. One aspect of that plan involved the Son of God being forsaken by His Father. willing to undergo that isolation, part of redemption's plan. The Son of God fulfilled the scriptures when he entered into the loneliness of Golgotha's suffering. You may be asking tonight, what has all this got then to do with me, a sinner? Well, I've spoken to you about God's plan of salvation. and focus my remarks on the Savior's isolation, but taking the broadest look at God's salvation, let me ask you, what have you done with it? What, sinner, have you done with God's plan of salvation? What have you done with it? In the book of Hebrews, the chapter number two and the verse three, we read about those who neglect God's so great salvation? The question is asked by the inspired penman. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? That is a question that you need to seriously and personally ask yourself tonight and to think upon this evening. How? How are you a sinner going to escape a life of sin? How are you going to escape A guilty conscience. How are you going to escape a place of no peace in this world? How are you going to escape an eternity in hell if you neglect God's so great salvation? That's a question you need to ask yourself. That's a question you're going to need to ponder. That's a question that you're going to need to confront and allow yourself to be confronted with tonight as you listen to the gospel. How are you going to escape God's judgment on sin? Your sin if you neglect God's so great salvation. I want you to notice that the inspired writer in Hebrews chapter 2 does not use the word deny. How shall we escape if we deny so great salvation? Though the infidel denies it, though the atheist denies it, salvation from sin is an undeniable truth. It's something that the sinner cannot deny as they consider the impact that it has made upon the lives of many within their own family and within the community in which they live. This salvation It has transformed my mother. This salvation, it has changed my father. This salvation has radically and eternally changed and transformed my brother, my sister, my friend, my work colleague. I cannot deny. And that's why the inspired pen man does not speak about the denial of God's salvation, neither does he speak about Rejecting God's salvation, how shall we escape if we reject? So great salvation, there are sinners listening. And you wouldn't reject God's salvation outright, as others would, no rather you would be sympathetic towards it. You would give a hearing to those who would preach salvation's message, you would possibly even give a mental assent, a mental assent to the need to be saved, to be right with God, to be reconciled to God. You would give a mental assent to that, yes preacher, I know that that's what I need to do. I need to be saved, I need to be reconciled, I need my sins to be forgiven, I need to be justified, I need to be put into a right standing before God. And you would give a mental assent to it, and so you wouldn't be one who would outrightly reject God's so great salvation. But it doesn't speak about rejecting God's salvation. No, rather the writer speaks about simply neglecting it. How shall we escape if we need let so great salvation? And sinner, that is what you do. Every time you spurn the offer of the gospel, every time when you laugh at the gospel preacher, every time that you resist the strivings of the Spirit of God within that soul of yours, every time you put out of your mind The workings of God within the heart, within the soul, every time you postpone deciding for Christ, this is what you're doing. You're neglecting God's so great salvation. You're neglecting it. All that tonight, you would rather accept than neglect God's so great salvation. Accept it. Accept it by faith. As we consider an isolation like no other, I want you to think with me in the second instance about the person who endured the isolation. We're told in Mark chapter 15, verse 34, that it was Jesus who cried with a loud voice, saying, eolai eolai lama sabathganai, which is being interpreted, my God, my God. Why hast thou forsaken me? It was Jesus, the Savior. There was no sharing of the cup which he drank with others, no dividing the sufferings which he endured with his closest companions, no partnership with a human or an angelic being in the work which he finished. No, it was him alone. He alone bore the full brunt and the full fury of God's wrath against him. Only he could do that. A mere human being would have been instantly annihilated if such wrath was poured out upon them. to consider the undeluded, concentrated wrath of God against sin for His elect people there in those three hours of darkness poured out upon the very soul of His only begotten into the very bosom of His well-begotten and only begotten Son. Any human being to endure such would have been completely annihilated within the very moment that the first wave, the first billow of God's wrath would have swept over the soul. But here we have a being, a man. Oh, but not simply a mere human man like you and I. This is the God-man. This is God and man in one person, two distinct natures. This is the eternal God. This is the Son of God, this is God the Son bearing the full weight and the burden of my sin and of the sins of his elect people. Being enabled by his divine nature, Christ was enabled to endure the punishment that was meted out against him for the sins of his people. I say for this we should all be thankful. No man endured the horrendous isolation and all that took place therein, but rather it was the God-man who went to the place of no standing, and he stood in my place. He stood in for me. He bore my sin. The hymn writer says he took my sin. and my sorrow. He made them His very own. He bore, He bore the burden of Calvary and suffered and died alone. There was no other good enough to pay the price of sin. He only could unlock the gate of heaven and let us in. He alone stood at the place of no standing and suffered all that was necessary for my salvation from sin. Let me inquire of you tonight, do you know Him? Do you know the One that I'm speaking of? Do you know Jesus Christ, the Son of God? Do you know Him? Note I did not ask you, do you know about Him? Of course you know about Him. Your mother has told you about Him. Your father told you about Him. Your Sunday school teacher told you about Him. Your minister has told you about Him. But do you know Him? Paul says that I might know Him and the power of His resurrection. Do you know Jesus Christ? Do you know Him seethingly? Do you know Him personally? Do you know Him intimately? Do you know Him? If not, then in the words of Job 22 verse 21, acquaint now thyself with him and be at peace. Thereby good shall come on to thee. As we consider an isolation like no other, think with me in the third instance about the paradoxes amidst the isolation. The paradoxes amidst the isolation. A paradox? What's that? Well, a paradox is a seemingly contradictory statement which when investigated may prove to be well-founded or true. Let me give you an example. The Greek philosopher Socrates famously said, I know one thing, that I know nothing. That's a paradox. I know one thing that I know nothing. The Bible is full of paradoxical statements. For example, Jesus said in Mark 8, verse 35, whosoever shall save his life shall lose it. It seems contradictory, but it's not really. The individual who lives for themselves in this world will eventually lose their soul in eternity. The saving of life results in the actual losing of it. I trust these two serve as examples of what a paradox is. So what then are some of the paradoxes concerning the one who endured Calvary's isolation? The first paradox is this. The innocent one is treated as if he is the guilty one. The innocent one is treated as if he is the guilty one. Pontius Pilate, we thought about him last Sunday evening. He said about the one suspended now upon the cross that he found no fault in him. Three times he said it. Judas Iscariot, the Savior's betrayer said, I have betrayed the innocent blood. As I thought about what I would speak upon this evening, that phrase came into my mind, a phrase that I've really never considered much before. Judas Iscariot did not say that he had betrayed the just one. He didn't say that he had betrayed the innocent one. He didn't say that he had betrayed the holy one or the righteous one or the sinless one, although Christ was all of these things. Rather, he said, I have betrayed the innocent blood. Why did Judas focus on the blood of Christ? Well, I believe that he did. Because he knew more theology than some ministers in our country know. You see, Judas understood that the blood of Christ was central to the redemption of the sinner. He wants it to be recorded and holy writ, that it is innocent blood. Innocent blood that is flowing through the very veins of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Yes, we could look at that term innocent blood and think about the life of Christ. Yes, I'm betraying the innocent one, the innocent one who did no sin in his life, but there's a focus on the blood. There's a centralizing of the thought upon the blood of Jesus Christ, and this is innocent blood. You see, Judas knew the Old Testament scriptures, and what did the Old Testament scriptures state? It is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. He knew that scripture. Speaking of the innocent blood of Christ Judas, was then, I believe, focusing on the suitability of Christ as the Redeemer and as the Savior of men because his blood was sinless blood, innocent blood, pure blood, blood that is enabled and is able to cleanse away the sinner's sin. But although he was innocent, Look at how the Son of God was treated when he came to die. He was treated like one who was guilty. He takes the center cross, the cross reserved for the greatest criminal, the center cross. Notice how he's treated by man. They whip him. They buffet him, they scourge him, they batter him, they strip him, they kneel him, they scorn him, like one who is guilty and thus deserving of such denigrating treatment. Ah, but look beyond then, and look to how the Father treats him. He bruises his son according to Isaiah 53. He wounds his son, he chastens his son, he afflicts his son, he puts his son to grief, and he does all that for you and for me. He is treated like one who is guilty of all of the sins of his people so that the guilty sinner when they turn from their sin and trust in him for salvation, are justified and looked upon by God as if they had never even been a sinner. Would you not want that to be your condition tonight, my unseen friend? That as God looks upon you, that he doesn't see your sin, but instead he sees the righteousness of Christ that has been imputed to your account, a righteousness that makes you positively holy. that brings you into that right standing with God. Yes, my sins put away, my sins washed in Calvary's blood, in the Redeemer's blood. Yes, but a righteousness that now makes me before God positively holy. Would you not like that to be your standing tonight? Would you not like the righteousness of Christ? being put to your account tonight. What a blessed state for any man, any woman, any boy or girl to be found in it. Think of it! You, the sinner, can be freed from your guilt because the innocent one was treated as the guilty one. Oh, what a mystery! Meekness and majesty bow down before Him. For this is your God. He was made sin for us. We knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God and Him quickly. A second paradox that is found amidst the isolation, the light of the world is shrouded in darkness. Did you get it? The light of the world is shrouded in darkness. Lord Jesus Christ would say in John chapter 8 verse 12, I am the light of the world. He that followeth in me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. Elsewhere in scripture he is referred to and depicted as the son of righteousness. That's how Malachi describes him, the son of righteousness arising with healing in his wings. He's known in the book of the Revelation as the bright and the morning star. And yet, when the son of God comes to die for sin, a darkness envelops the cross. that extends its reach over the whole land. Look there at the verse 33 of Mark 15. And when the sixth hour was come, there was a darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. He who is the light of the world now dwells in darkness. Here the light of the world humbles himself to the dark abodes of the misery and death for guilty man and for guilty sinners. He's in the darkness. He who is the light of the world now dwells and is now shrouded in the darkness. Oh, the mystery of it all. Sinner, the light of the world entered Calvary's darkness. so that you would never have to enter hell's darkness. The Bible speaks about outer darkness. The Bible speaks about the blackness of darkness when referring to the eternal abode of the Christ rejecter. This is where you're going, sinner, to a place of outer darkness, a place of a blackness of darkness, to a place where the light never shines. where the dawn never breaks, where the star never shines, where the sun never emits its rays, as a place of blackness and utter darkness. I, sinner, this is where you're headed for. I tell you to escape eternal darkness. In the words of PB Bliss, I would encourage you to come to the light, to shine for thee. Sweetly the light has dawned upon me once I was blind, but now I can see the light of the world is Jesus. Will you come to him? Will you leave the darkness of your sin and come to the light of the world? A third paradox, the rejected one is the accepted one. The Savior's entire life was marked by rejection. John 1 verse 11 states that he came on to his own and his own received him not. We only have to go to Bethlehem the night that the Savior entered this world and was born of a virgin for the verification of the Savior's rejection. There we view him not in the comfort of an inn, but in the dingy surroundings of a stable's manger, rejected at birth. Rejected in life. His preaching ministry was rejected by the masses. And when he was come to be crucified, when it came to that moment, that juncture in his life, not a voice, not one voice, not one voice was raised to seek for his release rather than Barabbas's. Not a voice. And yet though rejected by men, He and his work was accepted by God the Father. Is this not a mystery? At the moment of his greatest rejection, he found his greatest acceptance. Rejected by men, yet accepted by the Father. An acceptance of his person and his work that find its verification at His resurrection from the dead. I ask you this evening, are you found among the ranks of those who reject the Son of God? You've not only rejected Him, but you've rejected His cross, you've rejected His salvation, you've rejected His heaven. It would serve to the eternal well-being of your soul that you would accept Christ. and that through him you would find your acceptance with God tonight. Because sinner, I tell you, the alternative is not worth thinking about. The alternative is so terrifying. The alternative is so horrifying to think that he will reject you. If you reject him, that he will reject you. And from his lips you will hear those words, depart from me ye cursed into everlasting fire. The fourth paradox is that the giver and the sustainer of life is taken in death. During his earthly ministry, the Savior lamented over the unwillingness of the people to come to him for life. In John 5 verse 40, he said, ye will not come to me that ye might have life. He was the giver of life, and he as the giver of life would declare himself to be life itself. In John chapter 14, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. who is the giver and sustainer of life. However, in Mark chapter 15, is now taken in death. Death takes hold of him. Mark 15, 37 tells us, and Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost. If ever there was a mystery in the Bible, We are called upon to receive by faith that is here in these words. The Eternal One dies. The Eternal Son dies. He who promised to give life is now taken in death. And he is taken in death so that he might destroy death and come out the other side of death, the triumphant, glorious, all-conquering Lord of life and of death. He went into death to rub death of its victory and to remove the sting of death and to take victory from out of the grave. He would say, I am the resurrection and the life. And so let me ask you, have you come to Christ for life? Eternal, everlasting, abundant life? If you haven't, when you come to die, then you will not only die physically, but you will die eternally. I would counsel you then to get to the one who will give you life and that more abundantly. There's one final thought, very quick. And that is the thought concerning the purpose of the isolation. The purpose of the isolation. Why was the Son of God forsaken by His Father on the cross? Why did He suffer this episode of isolation like no other person had ever suffered or will ever suffer? Well, the plain and the simple reason is because He became sin for us. At the cross, all our iniquities were laid upon Christ, and therefore divine judgment had to fall upon Him. There was no way of simply transferring the sin without transferring the penalty, death. And so both sin and its punishment were transferred to Jesus Christ. On the cross, the Son of God offered Himself up as an atoning sacrifice for sin, and thereby there He was satisfying the demands of God's justice. On His shoulders was laid the colossal load of our sin. Being holy, God the Father could not look upon that sin. He could not countenance that sin. And thus he turns from the one upon whom the sin has been led. That turning away of the Father's face led the Savior to cry, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? It would be in the isolation that the Savior would fulfill completely and entirely and finally the law, He would satisfy the claims of divine justice, and He would pay and fill the debt of our sin. In simplest terms, and in the simplest terms that I can put it, The Savior's isolation and the suffering for sin that he suffered within those three hours of isolation provided my salvation. How amazing. How marvelous is my Savior's love to me. Oh, that you would understand this amazing, this unparalleled love that God the Son had for you, that he would endure the loneliness, that he would endure the sufferings of the cross. As Charles Wesley put it, amazing love, how can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me? in understanding the purpose of the Savior's isolation, that within that isolation He was suffering for sin. Then, if you're ever to know the benefits of His work, there needs to be an appropriation, a personal taking by faith of that work for you if you are to be saved from your sin. You as a sinner must come. Receive him. Believe on him to the saving of your soul. Let this be the moment that that takes place. In simple faith cry to him for mercy. Repent of your sin. Trust in Christ and then live for him for the rest of your days on earth. May you through this message come to appreciate the tremendous lengths that the Son of God went to in order that he might save a sinner like you. A sinner like you. An isolation like no other. And he did it all for you. May then you receive him as your savior and believe in him to the saving of your soul. May the Lord be pleased to bless his word to our hearts tonight. Let's unite in prayer with our heads bowed and our eyes closed. If there is one and you're troubled about spiritual things, well, there are opportunities for you to make contact with us via Facebook Messenger, via the email address portlanonefpc at hotmail.co.uk and then the telephone number of the man's 02825 821 765 02825 821 765. We'll be delighted to help you in these matters. May God be pleased to use his word to bring you to Christ. Let's pray. Father in heaven, take thy word, that which has been of thee, and apply it with power to the soul. We just want to still and pause and give thee thanks for the maintaining off again the internet link this evening. Lord, use thy word. Take it in not only to homes, but into hearts. right unto the soul where father the holy ghost takes it and brings it to life and causes the sinner to abandon sin and embrace christ as he is offered to them in the gospel so answer prayer bless thy word Glorify thy son, for I offer prayer in and through the Savior's precious name. Amen and amen. May the Lord bless. And if you need help, then please avail yourself of the various means that I have previously mentioned. May the Lord bless until we meet again.